The First Grand Slam of the year will start in less than a week!

Some people believe 2012 will be the year that Roger Federer’s ends his Grand Slam drought, while others believe Novak Djokovic will reign supreme once again. Looking closely at the last few tournaments of 2011, Federer won 16 consecutive matches in a row, while Djokovic pulled out many tournaments due to injuries. The third man in the world top three, Rafael Nadal, has been pretty quiet lately. It seems his has lost the drive to win and to become the number one player of the world again. Nadal’s decline was foreseeable after Djokovic beat him on every surface and every tournament; even when they played each other on Nadal’s favorite clay tournaments, Djokovic was able to pull ahead every time.

In more recent news, Federer pulled out of 2012 Qatar Open due to back injury. Gaël Monfils beat Nadal in straight sets, but Tsonga beat Monfils in the finals and claimed the Qatar title. During an interview, Federer said he will be ready for Australian Open, but one could only doubt if Federer will be 100% because his back has always bothered him. So by looking all of these factors as a whole, I believe Djokovic will be the favorite to win the title this year, followed by Federer, Tsonga, and then Nadal. However, don’t leave Murray and the others out because they may have a chance if Djokovic and Federer are injured.